tireless advocate for lgbt quality and a rising political star. as mayor of newark, new jersey, he has cut crime -- yea -- he has cut crime, a set tough new school standards, root out corruption, and run one of the most responsive city governments in the nation. even when that means rescuing citizens from burning buildings in the morning and shoveling snow from their driveways in the afternoon, i can only guess that come nightfall, perhaps a cape gets thrown into the mix there. he has fought for marriage a quality, and he has never shied away from calling out politicians like governor chris kristi, who vetoed our equality. as the co-chair of the democratic party platform committee this year, our guest led the way on securing a pro-

marriage a quality plank in this party's platform. ladies and gentlemen, it is my privilege to introduce a mayor who fights for you, mayor cory booker. >> ♪ i've got the moves like jagger. i've got the moves like jagger. i don't need to try to control you. look into my eyes and i'll own you with the moves like jagger. ♪ >> good evening, everybody. [applause] i feel the excitement. i am telling you right now, this room right here has within it the spirit of our common ancestor. i am not talking about ancestry, blood ties.

it can access the spirit of our nation. they took the very definition of america. constrained by limited mines and vision and expanded that. why the music may be a little bit better, why you may be just a little fancier, think about it. this room has the same flourishing. that church basements had when they were planning and talking and plotting about the freedom of our people. this room right here has that same spirit as dusty smelly

barns along a road that some call the underground railroad. who thought to expand the liberty of fellow citizens and america. you see, this is the spirit that gets me excited. when some of us and our nation were told you are not get enough, the spirit stood up and said "yes i am." when told you could not do, this is the spirit that said "yes, i can."

this is the spirit to move along the road of freedom. that is the spirit in this room. y'all should feel it. this is the spirit when folks right to saddle them with shame, tell them that they were less than human, this is the spirit that stood up and said you may write to me down in history with your bitter twist of lies, you may drop me in the dust, but still i rise. this is the spirit of a soldier and a true that in the face the people that tried to deny her her rights, privileges see, her sistership and said "ain't i a woman," this is the spirit.

it is the spirit of susan b. anthony and said it says in the constitution that we the people and not the male citizens of our nation, but we the people, all of the people in order to form a more perfect union made this country what it is today. this is the spirit. this is the spirit needed now more than ever. there is still folks that want to say you are less. we in this room must ignite the spirit that says "i am more." there are still people that want to deny the existence, say that you are some anomaly.

we are the ones must say "i am black and i am here. i am polish and i am here. i am irish and i am here. i am jewish and i am here. i am gay, i am transgendered, i am queer and i am here." [cheers and applause] get used to it. the echoes of our ancestors cannot be needed in this call for justice, the call to freedom is so loud and hard. we still live in a nation where some people want to deny the rights of others.

we still live in a nation that jackie robinson spoke as eloquently when he said that the cloth of america is that everybody who is an american should have a first-class citizenship. this is the united states of america. it is not united airlines with its first-class and coach. this is the united states of america where every citizen should have equal rights, equal citizenship, under the law. we have a mission. we must call for this spirit. more than ever before there is an urgency now. some folks might be wary because the road to freedom has never been an easy one. some folks have scars on their backs. some folks have been that still aches in their soul. we cannot stop.

james baldwin said that human history is a perpetual testament to the achievement of the impossible dream of america must drive us forward. we must not fail now. when other people want to drive us, we must be the hope. when people drive us to doubt, we must be the fate. i learned this from my family and my parents and my grandparents that one folks tried to tell you if you are lesser when one person stand up straight and strong, and they lived an entire nation. [applause] when one person defiantly refuses to be relegated to second class, we are all elevated. this is what everybody must understand. you cannot deny the right of

freedom and liberty of others without diminishing your own. this is what we must understand. what king said from a jail cell rings true for all of us. he said that we are all caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of unity that a threat to justice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. i give and we're conversations with my friends. why are you always talking about the right? i am not. i am talking about human rights. i'm talking about my right. i am talking about your right. you need to understand something.

this is what i was taught in my childhood days from parents who understood their own history and ancestry. this is what my parents told me. never forget that we need each other. you have the results of a community of courage. my father was a young boy who was born poor. he now tells people "i was "po" -- i couldn't afford the other two letters." he said what my mom could not take care of me it was a community of courage. it was the conspiracy of love that looked at me as their

child. they did not look at my race, my gender, my orientation, my religion. they saw me as one of their own and make sure i have food on my table. when it was time for me to go to college, people knew that the most viable natural resources in that community that was not oil or gas. folks but dollar bills and envelops a hotly go to college. my mom and dad did not just tell me stories. i had the privilege of being the commencement speaker for my mom's university on the 50th university. here is the frustrating thing about mamas. she looked at me and you could become a grown man at 40 years old and you could be the mayor

of a city and they still treat you like you are 12. she said come here, and s he pulled me around by my hand. i said, "i am the mayor, mom. you're ruining my image." she took me to table to table and said you have to meet these folks. this is the person that ran our voter registration drive. it was almost like she was saying, "pay attention. pay attention. this person thought for you. they struggled for you. they sacrificed for you." this is not about lot of voter rights for black civil rights. it was about american rights, about human rights, about the rights of the citizen of this nation. as i got older, they reminded me of the clear truth.

there were blacks, whites, latinos and asians. there were a gay folks and street books all marching for justice in america. they told me that you need to remember this from the beaches of normandy were there were black folks and white folks and gay folks. you need to remember this. when people were fighting to expand, it everybody involved. we knew we were all in it together. deep and real african proper was true. if you want to go fast you go alone, if you want to go far you go to together. so now it is time we go together. the dream of america is still just as urgent.

this is still just as real. we are not finished with this nation yet. the word of our founders, liberty and justice for all, are still as operational as long as there is a person in this country that does not enjoy the same rights as their brother or their sister when it comes to voting rights, when it comes to marriage rights, when it comes to civil rights. when it comes to social security and tax law and visitation and adoption. as long as there are two classes of citizenship we have work to do. there is an urgency. this is a mission. it is not a gay mission or a straight mission. it is not a black mission or a white mission. this is the american mission. the lies of this battle are not demarcated on any map.

they run from neighborhood and towns all over this nation. as long as there are children in pain in their own neighborhoods and communities, reluctant and fearful. as long as their are two people in love the stand before god and their fellow man but cannot declare themselves married just like their brothers and sisters. as long as this humiliation is heaped upon people who refused to be victims, and know they will be victors. we have work to do to get to that point. this is a call. i see this in new jersey. we are battling in that ranch. new jersey is a state line.

i am a prisoner of hope. no person, no organization can stand in the way of this country as it marches toward freedom, opportunity, and equality. we will ensure that merit a quality is signed into law in the state of new jersey. when that bill is signed, i may have a very good seat for it. i want to end with a call to my countrymen.

i want to end with an appeal to our common ancestry of spirit. i want to end as my ancestors did with a firm demand and a comment convention conveyed in spirit and blood and sweat and determination and relentlessness and indefatigable resistance. i want to end with what my parents try to teach me every single day, not just with their words but what they're examples. my mother and dad would put my brother and i to bed and they would read to us stories about champions of american history, about the great men and women from all races and backgrounds to afford me the privilege is that i did not earn. my parents would tell me you drank deeply from wells of freedom and liberty and

opportunity that you did not dig. eat lavishly from a banquet tables that were prepared for you by your ancestors. they would tease me and say you have a choice in life. you can sit back consuming all that was put before you, getting fat and happy, or you can let these blessings metabolize in your body and fuel you for words. what it means to understand that the democracy i enjoy did not just happen. change is not just rolled in on the wheels of inevitability. it must be carried in on the backs of soldiers. they wanted me to understand that all who have the privilege to call themselves americans have an obligation. this democracy is not a spectator sports. the music, and the anthem of our country when it plays, you have

to get your back up off the wall and get into the game and do your work. it has never done as long as one person is denied the rights you inspired to enjoy. my parents would read to me the words of and thomas jefferson, the writings of frederick douglass and the poetry of our ancestors. allow me to take the liberty today that i have taken one other time as a democratic national convention. i was so energized to be a part of a convention that was historic and first recognize with in its platform the truth that i had felt in my of life that we must recognize the equal rights been under the law in every area including the right to marriage.

i am so proud of my president for all he has done. i will work until the last hour to see president obama reelected. [cheers and applause] i stand with obama because i stand for the quality. whether it is a woman's right to make the same money when she works the same job as a man or whether it is somebody who served in the military no matter who they are, no matter who they love. if they have courage, if they have commitment, and if they have the capacity, i want them out there keeping america states. as i stood there, i recited the call of my childhood.

i will recite it now, taking a liberty to change one word that you will recognize when i do. it is a poem by a hero of mine named langston hughes. my parents read it to me by my bedside for the first time. it ends like this. "let america be america again. the land that never has been yet but yet must be. the land where everyone is free. the poor man. the indian, the negro, and the lgbt. who made america? whose sweat and blood? who plowed in the rain must make our mighty dream live

again. i say it plain. american never was america to me but i swear this oath. america will be." my brothers and sisters in spirit, it is time that we go out and make up the spirit of our countrymen and women and tell them that we are here to help you remember from whence we came. we are here to let you know that all of us hold these truths to be self evident. we are one nation under god, indivisible. we must wake up the. that recognizes that all people are created equal and endowed by their creator by inalienable rights.

i can join truth under the law with my brothers, sisters, that we are all first-class, and the campaign we talked about will continue until that day it will become a reality. thank you very much. [applause] >> cd vice-presidential debate this thursday night, live on c- span and online at c-span.org

pi. next, mitt romney delivers a foreign-policy speech. then analyzed at 7:00 a.m., "washington journal." it will look at the state of the u.s. housing market. coming up, a discussion on the economy and campaign 2012. the u.s. chamber of commerce and business roundtable. they look at what they see as the most important business issues this election cycle. you can see it live, starting at 8:30 eastern, on c-span 2. today, a look at the obama administration's aid to the auto industry.

the former lead adviser on the auto industry will be live, starting at 9:00 a.m. eastern, on c-span 3. this month, as the presidential candidates meet for debate, we are asking middle and high school students to send a message to the presidency. students will answer the question, what is the most important issue the president should consider in 2013? there is a grand prize of $25,000. -- $5,000. for complete details and rules, go online to studentcam.org. >> in a foreign-policy speech, mr. khamenei said that president obama is a passive in the middle east chris it is time to change course in the regent.

-- region. foreign policy will be the focus of the third presidential debate on october 22nd. this is 30 minutes.

congressman goodlatte has been a tremendous supporter of the men and women in uniform. since its founding in 89, this institution has been incredibly dedicated to the cause of honor and service. vmi has produced some of the finest officers that the military has known during its nearly two centuries of service. i think it is fitting that governor romney has chosen virginia military institute, and you, the corps of cadets, as the audience to be able to discuss america's role in an increasingly dangerous and changing world. many of you no doubt will raise your hand and swear an oath to the constitution here upon graduation, and also be asked to go into harm's way, and for

that, on behalf of the people of virginia, i want to say thank you. my family is kind of typical of virginia. my dad is a world war ii vet, my daughter was a platoon leader in iraq. there are many families like us in virginia. we have 150,000 men and women on active duty in a virginia. 830,000 veterans in virginia, about the highest number per capita of any state. the, the pentagon, the great navy base in norfolk, the home of the coast guard station, many, many places where men and women in uniform proudly serve. it was the pentagon on a virginia's soil that was one of the places attacked on 9/11. i think that perhaps our roots

going back to the first commander in chief, general and president george washington, give us that unique sense of history when it comes to serving in the military. while most said the jobs in the economy and get and things of that nature, economic issues, are at the forefront of people's minds, some of the events of the past few weeks have put the issue of foreign policy front and center once again. no matter what the economy needs, america's role as the leader of the free world is always an issue of importance not only for americans, but around the world. there are many uncertainties, and you see them on the daily news. the arab spring has created a number of new leaders in many places, egypt, libya, other places. mitt romney will be the leader, i believe, who will help to

forge new strategic alliances and create a very clear policy for how we are going to deal with the mideast, and be sure that we are always vigilant in this ongoing war against al qaeda and terrorists. secondly, our strategic alliance with israel is always an important issue. governor romney has been unequivocal in his support for our friends in israel and upending their interests. thirdly, this ongoing issue of how to deal with the impending defense cuts brought about through sequestration are a critically important issue for our nation. $1 trillion in defense cuts over the next two years is simply not acceptable to be able to defend our country and provide you, the men and women who will be in the military, with the support and equipment and material that you need to defend our nation's interests.

while president obama has been largely a bystander and not forceful in preventing defense cuts, governor romney has been unequivocal that this policy must be reversed and more resources need to be applied to defense. i am delighted that governor romney has chosen at virginia military institute today to be able to deliver remarks on america's leadership role in the world and on foreign policy. he is a man of immense principle, immensely successful as a leader in the public and private sector. he was commander of the massachusetts national guard, and understands very well what the men and women in the national guard do to support the cause of freedom. please join me in welcoming a man who i believe was ready to be commander in chief of the united states military, the next president of the united states, governor mitt romney. [applause]

>> thank you. thank you. thank you so very much for that warm welcome, and i particularly appreciate the introduction by my good friend and tireless campaign companion, gov. bob mcdonnell. we have traveled to stick together time and time again, and he goes all over the country helping me. he is also showing in virginia what conservative leadership can do to build a stronger economy. thank you also to congressman goodlatte.

in particular thanks to the general. i appreciate his invitation to be here today at the virginia military institute. it is a privilege to be an institution like this that has done so much for the nation both in times of war and times of peace. for more than 107 years, vmi has done more than educate students. it has guided their transformation into citizens, warriors, and leaders. vmi graduates serve with honor in nation's defense, just as many are doing in afghanistan and other lands. i mourn with you the 15 brave souls who have been lost. i join with you and praying for the many vmi graduates who are right now serving in harm's way. may god bless all who serve and all who have served.

of all the vmi graduates, and none is more distinguished, perhaps, then general george marshall, the chief of staff of the army became secretary of state, secretary of defense, helped to vanquish fascism and plant it europe's rescue from despair. general marshall once said, "the only way human beings can win a war is to prevent it." those words were true in his time, and they are true in our time. last month, our nation was attacked again. a u.s. ambassador and three fellow americans are dead, murdered in benghazi, libya. among the dead or three veterans, all on a mission of peace and friendship to a nation that clearly longs for both. president obama has said that ambassador chris stevens and his colleagues represented the best of america, and he is right.

we all mourn their loss. the attacks against us in libya were not an isolated incident. they were accompanied by anti- american riots in nearly two dozen other countries, most in the middle east, but also in africa and asia. our embassies have been attacked, our flag has been burned, many of our citizens have been threatened and driven from their overseas homs by vicious mons chardon "death to america." these mobs which did the black banner of islamic extremism on the anniversary of 9/11. as the dust settles, as the murdered are buried, americans are asking how this happened. how the threats we face have grown worse, and what this calls on america to do. these are the right questions. i have come here today to offer a larger perspective on these tragic recent events, and to share with you, and to share with all americans, my vision

for a freer, more prosperous, and more peaceful world. the attacks on america last month should not be seen as random acts. they are expressions of a larger struggle that is playing out across the broader middle east, a region that is now and in the midst of the most profound upheaval in a century. the fault lines of this struggle can be seen clearly in benghazi itself. the attack on our consulate there on september 11, 2012, was likely the work of forces affiliated with those that attacked our homeland on september 11, 2001. this latest assault cannot be blamed on irrepressible video insulting islam. despite the administration's attempts to convince us of that for so long. no, as the administration has finally conceded, these attacks were the deliberate work of terrorists, who use violence to impose their dark ideology on others, especially women and girls, who are fighting to control much of the middle east

today, and who seek to wage a perpetual war on the west. we saw all of this in benghazi last month, but we also saw something else, something hopeful. after the attack on our consulate, tens of thousands of libyans, most of them young people, held a massive protest in benghazi against a very extremist who had murdered our people. they waved signs that read, "the ambassador was libya's friend," and "libya is sorry." they chanted "no to militias." they marched to the terrorist compound and then and they burned it to the ground. as one libyan woman said, " we're not going to go from darkness to darkness." this is a struggle that has shaken the entire middle east. it is the struggle of millions and millions of people, men and

women, young and old, muslims, christians, and nonbelievers, all of whom have had enough of the darkness. it is a struggle for the dignity that comes with freedom and opportunity and the right to live under laws of our own making. it is a struggle that has unfolded under green banners in the streets of iran, in the public squares of tunisia and egypt and yemen, and in the fight for liberty in iraq and afghanistan and libya, and now in syria. in short, it is a struggle between liberty and tyranny, justice and oppression, hope and despair. we have seen this struggle before. you will be familiar with the general george marshall. in his time, the ashes of world war, the struggle between democracy and despotism. fortunately, we had the leaders of courage and vision, both republicans and democrats, who knew that america had to support friends who share our values and prevent today's crises from becoming tomorrow's conflicts trade statesmanlike

marshall would rise to the responsibility, as did the leader of the free world. we defended our friends and ourselves from our common enemies. we led -- we led. although the path was long and uncertain, the thought of war in europe is inconceivable today as it seemed inevitable in the last century. this is what makes america exceptional. it is not only the character of our country. it is also the record of our accomplishments. america has a proud history of strong, confident, principled global leadership, a history that has been written by patriots of both parties. this is the standard by which we measure ever present, as well as anyone who wishes to be president.

unfortunately, this president's policies have not been equal to our best examples of world leadership, and nowhere is this more evident than in the middle east. i want to be very clear -- the blame for the murder of our people in libya and the attacks on our embassies in so many other countries lies solely with those who carried them out, no one else. it is our responsibility and responsibility of the president to use america's greatest power to shape history, not to lead from behind, leaving our destiny at the mercy of events. unfortunately, that is exactly what we find ourselves in the middle east under president obama. the relationship between the president of the united states and the prime minister of israel, for example, our close ally in the region, has suffered great strains. at the present explicitly stated that his goal was to put daylight between the united states and israel, and he succeeded. and this is a dangerous situation that has set back the

hope of peace in the middle east and embolden our mutual adversaries, especially iran. iran today has never been closer to a nuclear weapon capability. it has never posed a greater danger to our friends, our allies, and as, and has never acted less deterred by america as was made clear last year when iranian agents plotted to assassinate the saudi ambassador in our nation's capital. and yet 1 million iranians took to the streets in june 2009, demanding freedom from a cruel regime that threatens the world, when they cried out, "are you with us or are you with them," the american president was silent. across the greater middle east, as the joint board from the downfall of dictators has given way to the painstaking work of building capable security forces and growing economies and developing effective democratic institutions, the president has failed to offer the tangible support that our

partners want and need. in iraq, the costly gains made by our troops are being eroded by rising violence, a resurgent al qaeda, the weakening of democracy in baghdad, and the rising influence of iran. and yet america's ability to influence events for the better and iraq has been undermined by the abrupt withdrawal of our entire troop presence. the president has tried -- he tried, but he also failed, to secure a responsible and gradual drawdown that would have better secure our gains. the president has also failed to lead in syria, where more than 30,000 men, women, and children have been massacred by the assad regime over the past 20 months. violent extremists are flowing into the fight. our ally turkey has been attacked. the conflict threatens stability in the region.

america can take pride in the blows that our military and intelligence professionals have inflicted on al qaeda, pakistan, afghanistan, including the killing of osama bin laden. these are real achievements one at a high cost. al qaeda remains a strong force, however, in yemen and somalia, libya, other parts of north africa, iraq, and now in syria, and other extremists have been ground across the region. drones and modern instruments of war are important tools in our fight, but are no substitute for national security strategy for the middle east. the president is fond of saying that the tide of war is receding. i want to believe him as much as anyone se. but when we look at the middle east today, with iran closer than ever to nuclear weapons capability, with the conflict in syria threatening to destabilize the region, and with a violent extremists on the march, and with an american ambassador and three others

dead, likely at the hands of al qaeda affiliates, it is clear that the risk of conflict in the region is higher now than when the president took office. i know the president hopes for a safer, freer, and more prosperous middle east allied with us. i shared this hope. but hope is not a strategy. we cannot support our friends and defeat our enemies in the middle east when our words are not backed up by deeds, when our defense spending is arbitrarily and deeply cut, when we have no trade agenda to speak of, and the perception of our strategy is not one of partnership but passivity. the greater tragedy of it all is that we are missing an historic opportunity to win a new friends who share our values and the middle east, friends who are fighting for their own futures against the very same violent extremists and evil tyrant and angry mobs who seek to harm us. unfortunately, so many of these

people who could be our friends feel that our president is indifferent to their quest for freedom and dignity. as one syrian woman put it, "we will not forget that you forgot about us." it is time to change course in the middle east. that should be organized around these bedrock principles -- america must have confidence in our cause, clarity in our purpose, and resolve in our minds. no friend of america will question our commitment to support them. no enemy that attacks america will question our results to defeat them. no one anywhere, friend or foe, will doubt america's ability to back up our words. i will put the leaders of iran on notice that the united states and our friends and allies will prevent them from acquiring nuclear weapons capability. i will not hesitate to impose new sanctions on iran, and will tighten the sanctions we currently have. i will restore the permanent presence of aircraft carriers and task forces in both the

eastern mediterranean and the gulf. and i will work with israel to increase our military assistance and coordination. for the sake of peace, we must make clear to iran for actions, not just words, that their nuclear pursuits will not be tolerated. i will reaffirm our historic ties to israel and our abiding commitment to its security. the world must never see any daylight between our two nations. i will deepen our critical cooperation with our partners in the gulf, and i will hold back president obama's deep and arbitrary cuts to our national defense that would devastate our military. i will make a critical defense investments that we need to remain secure. the decisions we make today will determine our ability to protect america tomorrow. the first purpose of a strong military is to prevent war. the size of our navy is at levels not seen since 1916.

i will restore our navy to the size needed to fulfill our missions by building 15 ships per year, including three submarines. i will implement effective missile defenses to protect against threats. and on this, there will be no flexibility with vladimir putin. i will call on our nato allies to keep the greatest military alliance in history strong by honoring their commitment to each devote 2% of their gdp to security spending. today, only three of the 28 nato nations meet this benchmark. i will make further reforms to foreign assistance, to create incentives for good governance, for free enterprise, and for greater trade in the middle east and beyond. i will organize all efforts in the greater middle east under one official, with responsibility and accountability to prioritize efforts and to produce results. i will rally our friends and our allies to match our generosity with their, and i

will make it clear to the recipients of our aid that in return for our material support, they must meet the responsibilities of every decent, modern government, to respect the rights of all the citizens, including women and minorities, to ensure civil society, a free media, political parties, and an independent judiciary, and to abide by international commitments to protect our diplomats and our property. i will champion of free trade and restore it as a critical element of our strategy, both in the middle east and across the world. the president has not signed one new free trade agreement in the past four years. i will reverse that failure and work with the nation's around the world that are committed to the principles of our free enterprise, expanding its existing relationships, and starting new ones. i will support friends in the

middle east who share our values but need help defending them and their sovereignty against common enemies. in libya, i will support the libyan people's efforts to forge a lasting government represents all of them, and i will vigorously pursue the terrorists who attacked our consulate in benghazi and killed our fellow americans. in egypt, i will use our influence, including clear conditions on our eight, to urge the new government to represent all egyptians, to build democratic institutions, and to maintain its peace treaty with israel. and we must persuade our friends and allies to place similar stipulations on their aid. in syria, i will work with our partners to identify and organize those members of the opposition who share our values, and then ensure that they obtained the arms they need to defeat assad's tanks and helicopters and fighter jets. iran is sending arms to assad

because they know his downfall would be a strategic defeat for them. we should be working no less vigorously through international partners to support the many syrians who would deliver that defeat to iran, rather than sitting on the sidelines. it is essential that we develop influence with those forces in syria that will one day lead a country that sits at the heart of the middle east. in afghanistan, i will pursue our real and successful transition to afghan security forces by the end of 2014. president obama what have you believe that anyone who disagrees with his decisions in afghanistan is arguing for endless war. but the route to war and potential attacks on is a politically it time to retreat that abandons the afghans to people, the same extremists who launched 9/11. i will evaluate conditions on the ground and with the best device of our military commanders, and i will affirm that my duty is not to protect

my political prospects, but to protect the security of the nation. finally, i will recommit america to the goal of a democratic, prosperous palestinian state, living side by side in peace and security with the jewish state of israel. on this vital issue, the president has failed. and what should be a negotiation process has devolved into a series of heated disputes at the un. in this old conflict, as in every challenge we face at the middle east, only a new president will bring the chance to begin anew. there is a long and for american leadership in the middle east, and it is not unique to that region. it is broadly felt by america's friends and allies and other parts of the world as well. in europe, where putin's russia casts a long shadow over young democracies, where our oldest allies say we're giving away from them. in asia and across the pacific, where china posture recent

assertiveness is sending chills through of that region. and in our own hemisphere, where our neighbors in latin america want to resist the failed ideology of hugo chavez and the castro brothers and deepen ties with the united states through trade and energy insecurity. in all these places, just as in the middle east, the question is asked, where does america stand? i know many americans are asking a different question -- why us? i know many americans are asking whether our country today, with our ailing economy and massive debt and 11 years of war, is still capable of leading. i believe that if america doesn't lead, others will. others who don't share our interests and our values, and the world would grow darker for our friends and for us. america's security and the cause of freedom cannot afford four more years like the last four years.

i believe america has the duty to our citizens and friends everywhere to use our influence wisely, with solemnity, and without false pride, but also firmly and actively, to shape events in ways that secure our interests, for our values, prevent conflict, and make the world better -- not perfect, but better. our friends and allies across the globe to not want less american leadership. they want more. more of our moral support, more of our security cooperation, more of our trade, more of our assistance in building free societies and thriving economies. so many people across the world still look to america as the best hope of humankind. so many people still have faith in america. we must show them that we still have faith in ourselves, that we have the will on the wisdom to revive our stagnant economy,

to roll back our unsustainable debt, to reform our government, to reverse the catastrophic cuts now threatening our national defense, to renew the sources of our great power and to lead the course of human events. sir winston churchill once said of george marshall, "he always fought victoriously against defeatism, the discouragement, and dissolution." that is the role our friends want us to play again, and the role we must play. the 21st century can and must be an american century. it began with terror and war and economic calamity. it is our duty to steer it under the path of freedom and peace and prosperity. the torch america carries is one of decency and hope. it is not america's torch alone, but it is america's duty

and honor to hold it high enough that all the world can see it's like. thank you so much for your participation in this great charge. god bless you, and god bless the united states of america. thank you very much. [applause] ♪ ♪

her heal ♪ >> coming up, a discussion on the economy and camp and 2012.

the heads of the u.s. chamber of commerce, business roundtable and a national retailer federation looked at what they see as the most important business issues this election cycle. you can see it live at 8:30 eastern, on c-span 2. today, and look at the obama administration's need to the auto industry. we hear from the former lead adviser on the auto industry, steve radner. that will be live on c-span 3. >> c-span's campaign 2012, provides live coverage of all the debates. it is the only place you can see behind the scenes sights and sounds, before and after the debates. each question is available as a

separate clip. reid streaming tweaks -- tweets . good to see c-span.org/debates. >> the vice-presidential debate is this thursday night. coming up live today, "washington journal." at 10:00 a.m., senator schumer explains how democrats should approach tax reform legislation. at 5:00 p.m. eastern, president obama campaigns at ohio university in columbus. all this month and until election day, c-span is a new live house and senate debates from around the country. tonight we are in western tonight we are in western virginia